Contrary to fathers' rights propaganda, father perpetrators (along with stepdads and caretaker boyfrends) dominate the most vicious crimes against children: sexual assault, abusive head trauma, murder-suicides, crimes involving gun violence, and other similar forms of physically violent/fatal child abuse. And as more dads are providing child care (either because mom is working and can't find other care, or because dads are increasingly getting unsupervised visitation/custody through the family courts), more dads are are being found guilty of basic child abuse and neglect as well.

Heads Up: Comments that slander the victims and/or the mother (especially when no criminal charges have been filed against her involving a violent crime) will not be published.

As for praising or excusing molesters, rapists, murderers, or violence-addicted fathers in general as poor, oppressed and/or misunderstood creatures who are "really nice guys"? Those comments won't be published either.

Don't waste my time or yours.

ALSO: Please keep in mind that I do not have the time or resources to investigate each crime independently, so I am forced to rely on media reports. I regularly critique these reports, highlighting the obvious omissions, vague or euphemistic language, or logical gaps in the way they are written. But I am seldom in a position to fact check every detail. If you believe the essential facts are incorrect, then contact the reporter or the publication.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Dad poisons 8-week-old son by mixing formula with gin; claims it was an "accident" (Los Angeles, California)

How does one "accidentally" mix gin in with baby formula? Seriously?? And if it was an "accident," how and when did Daddy know learn about his "mistake"? And if it was a mistake, why did Daddy "forget" to mention it until asked by medical personnel? This really doesn't pass the smell test.

Notice that there is NO MENTION OF A MOTHER in this household. We see that a babysitter is mentioned, but no mom. So was there one? If there was one, and she was not responsible for this "accident," then why is the baby now in foster care? Is this a single dad or something?

An 8-week-old infant in Los Angeles became ill after his father allegedly mixed the baby's formula with gin instead of water by accident.

Although it's not clear whether the father was telling the truth, the baby was found to have a high blood alcohol level — equivalent to about five times the legal limit for an adult operating a motor vehicle.

The baby was brought to the emergency room after his babysitter noticed that the infant was experiencing breathing problems— including gasping for air — and had gone limp. At the hospital, the doctors smelled alcohol on the baby, and ordered a blood alcohol test. The father mentioned the possible gin-water mix-up only after being questioned about the baby's high alcohol level.

This infant experienced what doctor's call an "apparent life-threatening event," or ALTE, an episode that is alarming to an observer because a person displays symptoms such as color change or gagging. When emergency room doctors see a case like this, they must work quickly to figure out what could be wrong with the patient, said Dr. Taylor McCormick, an emergency medicine physician at the Los Angeles County & University of Southern California Medical Center.

Cases of infant alcohol poisoning are rare, and emergency room doctors may not always think to check a baby's blood alcohol level when they see an ALTE, McCormick said. At McCormick's hospital, where the baby was treated (McCormick didn't personally treat the infant), doctors had ordered blood alcohol tests for infants just six times during the course of a year, and knew of only one other case in which the results had come back positive. (The emergency room treats more than 22,000 children a year.)

While McCormick doesn't think every baby that experiences an ALTE should be screened for alcohol poisoning, if maltreatment is suspected, alcohol screening should be considered, she said.

McCormick and colleagues describe this case of infant alcohol poisoning in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Not many studies on infant alcohol poisoning have been done, but from what is known, babies appear to metabolize alcohol faster than adults, McCormick said. Symptoms of alcohol poisoning in babies can include difficulty breathing, reduced activity and seizures. Some studies have found a risk for low blood sugar.

The long-term effects on the baby are also unclear, and a one-time event may not cause problems. However, breathing difficulties could deprive the baby's brain of oxygen, possibly causing brain damage, McCormick said.

The baby featured in the journal article spent several months in the hospital, and was ultimately discharged to the care of foster parents after the Department of Children and Family Services was notified about the case. There was a plan in place for the baby to work with a therapist because the doctors were concerned the baby had a developmental delay, McCormick said. Whether this condition was present before the poisoning, or resulted from it, is hard to say, McCormick said, but "it's certainly possible that he could have a lasting deficit from the alcohol poisoning."